Off The Beaten Track in a Kayak!
Discover The Gambia from a new perspective with FairPlay Gambia’s kayaking adventures — a peaceful and engaging way to explore the broad, majestic stretches of the River Gambia and its surrounding landscapes.
Trips range from short paddles to full-day and multi-day journeys that can be combined with hiking or boat travel. The sample itineraries below offer a starting point — we’re happy to design a route to match your interests, experience, and pace.
Led by professional, UK-standard-trained guides, our tours are perfect for solo travellers or small groups. Accommodation includes bush camps, homestays, and riverside lodges.
As you paddle past forests, islands and remote communities, you’ll spot wildlife and gain insight into local life along the river.
This is your chance to connect with nature, slow down, and experience The Gambia from the water — at your own rhythm.
Local Paddling
Half-day 3-4 hours
*Start early to beat the heat of the day or go later for a sunset experience.
Paddle with your guide to the end of the Island looking for hippos, monkeys, baboons and birds on the way. Stretch your legs at Kunkiling Forest Park or Bird Safari Camp before heading back to Janjanbureh. (£30 per person)
Full-day with packed lunch
Paddle West past the end of the island to Six Junctions, a collection of uninhabited river islands around which you have a good chance of seeing hippos, monkeys, baboons and great birdlife. Go ashore at Manna Sandbanks for a packed lunch, cold drinks and a walk around the bush.
Relax under the mango trees during the hottest part of the day before heading back to Janjanbureh. (£50 per person)
Full-day, strong paddlers only
Depart Janjanbureh early in the morning heading West. Along the way, you will hope to see hippos, monkeys, baboons and incredible birdlife. You will have the chance to park the kayak and stretch your legs at various points along the way including Manna Sandbanks and Barajally. Enjoy a packed lunch at the riverside and reach the River Gambia National Park (aka Baboon Islands) by around 3 – 4 pm, when the chimps often come down to the water's edge. After seeing the chimps, you'll take a short nature walk up to Last Elephant Hill, with its great views over the river and the chance of meeting baboons and red colobus monkeys. From there continue to the wharf town of Kuntaur and take road transport back to Janjanbureh before dark. (£75 per person)
* Prices for local paddling include equipment hire, guiding, packed lunch (full days only) and entry fees to parks and road transport where applicable.
Add a night at Kairoh Garden riverside lodge, including an evening meal, breakfast and morning hike to the nearby Wassu Stone Circles for an additional £45 per person.
Multi-night adventures
Our expeditions are built around your interests, time available and fitness levels. Below are a few of our favourite trips but please feel free to contact us to discuss other expedition possibilities.
How about a kayaking/hiking/cycling adventure?
Itinerary 1 - Moderate
Itinerary 1: Four-day, three-night Expedition: Janjanbureh, homestay in Manna village, paddle through River Gambia National Park (chimps and hippos) to the wharf town of Kuntaur. Visit Wassu Stone Circles.
Day 1: Depart the coast of Gambia early to arrive in Janjanbureh around 1 pm. Your guide will meet you on arrival and take you for lunch at a local bar/restaurant.
After lunch and checking into your accommodation, you'll have time to relax under the mango trees, swim in the river or familiarise yourself with your kayak. Around 4 pm, you'll take a tour of the town to learn the Island's important place in Gambian history, with visits to the Freedom Tree, Governor's Residence, Methodist School and more. Tour includes the UNESCO sponsored Kankurang Museum - a small but fascinating exhibition about the West African masquerade culture.
Evening meal at your lodge.
Day 2: After visiting the morning market to stock up on snacks, you'll depart Janjanbureh Island heading West to the end of the Island, where you'll stop to see a palm wine tapper at work and try some fresh palm. From there, you will continue on to Six Junctions, a collection of river islands with a good chance of seeing hippos on the way. At Six Junction, you'll leave the kayaks and walk a short distance into Manna village.
Spend the rest of the day in Manna, taking part in daily life and touring the village. Accommodation is a nice, clean room in the compound of your guide.
Day 3: After breakfast, say goodbye to Manna, head back to the kayaks and continue West to the River Gambia National Park (aka Baboon Islands), with the aim of being there around 3 – 4 pm, when the chimps often come down to the water's edge. After seeing the chimps and meeting the rangers from the Chimp Rehab Project, you'll paddle on to Kairoh Garden riverside lodge in the wharf town of Kuntaur, where you will take your evening meal and spend the night.
Day 4: Take breakfast by the river early (optional) and then cross the river for a hike looking for Baboons and the endangered Red Colobus monkeys. Lunch at the lodge before a visit to the famous Wassu Stone Circles and departure back to Janjanbureh or your next destination.
Kayaking Distance: 38 km
Activity level: Moderate
Time: Four days, three nights
Price: £265 (2 - 6 guests) per person (includes meals from lunch on day 1 to lunch on day 4, two nights lodge accommodation, one-night homestay, guiding, equipment hire and transport, entry fees, fair wages and community contributions. Solo traveller £295.
Itinerary 2 - Moderate
Itinerary 2. Five-day, four-night trip with 3 days of paddling: Janjanbureh, Basse Santa Su, Diabugu Tendala, Sami Karantaba, Bansang, Janjanbureh.
Day 1: Meet your guide in the cultural and historic town of Janjanbureh and feel free to take your kayak onto the river for a quick practice. Travel by public transport to Basse Santa Su, with its bustling market, border town atmosphere and lively local bars. Sleep in lodge accommodation in Basse Santa Su.
Day 2: Paddle from Basse to Diabugu Tendala. The distance is around 38km. Because the river is tidal even this far East, each day's departure will be timed to benefit from the downstream current. Diabugu Tendala is a two-family village on the North bank of the river at a local crossing point and is a very off-the-beaten-track experience. You will be treated to some local dancing and drumming (especially from the many children of the compound!) and will meet the silversmith with his traditional hand-bellowed furnace. Sleep in a local house or in tent accommodation.
Day 3: After breakfast, say goodbye to the family at Diabugu Tendala and head to Sami Karantaba. Distance approximately 36km. Sami Karantaba Tenda is a village on the river with a small school and a health centre. It is famously where Scottish Explorer, Mungo Park set up his base camp before heading into the African interior.
You will meet the chief of the village, who is also a traditional healer, and visit the small memorial to Mungo Park. Enjoy your evening meal in the chief's compound and sleep in tent accommodation near the river.
Day 4: Take breakfast by the river and depart towards the provincial town of Bansang, 19km downstream. Have lunch at a riverside lodge in Bansang before paddling to Janjanbureh, a further 18km. Celebrate your successful expedition with a cold drink at Musa's Garden Riverside Lodge, where you will spend the night.
Day 5: After a leisurely breakfast by the river, take a tour to learn the important role played by the town in the ending of the slave trade. Visit the UNESCO sponsored Kankurang Museum - a small but fascinating exhibition about the West African masquerade culture. Have lunch at a local restaurant and depart by around 2pm to arrive at the coast around dark.
Kayaking Distance: 113 km
Activity level: Challenging
Time: Five days, four nights
Price: £360 (2 - 6 guests) per person (includes meals from lunch on day 1 to lunch on day 5), two nights lodge accommodation, one night tent accommodation, one night homestay, guiding, equipment hire and transport, entry fees, fair wages and community contributions. Solo traveller £395.
Itinerary 3 - Challenging
Four-day, four-night trip with 3 days of paddling: Janjanbureh, Basse Santa Su, Diabugu Tendala, Sami Karantaba, Bansang, Janjanbureh.
Day 1: Meet your guide in the cultural and historic town of Janjanbureh and feel free to take your kayak onto the river for a quick practice. Travel by public transport to Basse Santa Su, with its bustling market, border town atmosphere and lively local bars. Sleep in lodge accommodation in Basse Santa Su.
Day 2: Paddle from Basse to Diabugu Tendala. The distance is around 38km. Because the river is tidal even this far East, each day's departure will be timed to benefit from the downstream current. Diabugu Tendala is a two-family village on the North bank of the river at a local crossing point and is a very off-the-beaten-track experience. You will be treated to some local dancing and drumming (especially from the many children of the compound!) and will meet the silversmith with his traditional hand-bellowed furnace. Sleep in a local house or in tent accommodation.
Day 3: After breakfast, say goodbye to the family at Diabugu Tendala and head to Sami Karantaba. Distance approximately 35km. Sami Karantaba Tenda is a village on the river with a small school and a health centre. It is famously where Scottish Explorer, Mungo Park set up his base camp before heading into the African interior.
You will meet the chief of the village, who is also a traditional healer, and visit the small memorial to Mungo Park. Enjoy your evening meal in the chief's compound and sleep in tent accommodation near the river.
Day 4: Take breakfast by the river and depart towards the provincial town of Bansang, 18km downstream. Have lunch at a riverside lodge in Bansang before heading on to Janjanbureh, a further 18km on. Celebrate your successful expedition with a cold drink at Musa's Garden Riverside Lodge, where you will spend the night.
£380 per person (includes meals from lunch on Day 1 to evening meal on Day 4, accommodation, guiding, road transport, and a donation to communities in Diabugu Tendala and Sami Karantaba).
Combined Hiking and Kayaking Adventures
Day trip
Starting from Janjanbureh or Lamin Koto, we'll paddle East (Approx 7km) to Koli Bolong 'Mountain'. It's only 30m but it offers great views over the river and surrounding area. The hiking includes an area of forest that is home to Baboons and Red Colobus monkeys, and a few small and very traditional villages. Lunch will be at the compound of the chief of Konko Duma - a tiny Fula settlement.
Hike back to Koli Bolong, taking the chance to cool down in the river, before paddling back to Janjanbureh.
Hiking Distance: 6 km
Kayaking Distance: 13 km
Time: Full day.
Price: £50 per person
* Price includes equipment hire, guiding, lunch, fair wages, and community contributions.
Combined Hiking and Kayaking Adventure Package.
Six days, Five Nights. Bansang to Kuntaur.
Includes: Janjanbureh, River Gambia National Park and Wassu Stone Circles
This 6-day, 5-night adventure combines the best of the area’s wildlife with traditional local culture and the chance to explore the history of Janjanbureh Island.
The two days of hiking cover approximately 12km per day over relatively flat ground and the kayaking around 18km (supported by the current) per day. It offers the chance of meeting chimps, baboons, other primates, hippos, crocodiles, turtles, warthog, mongooses and a huge diversity of birds.
Our trips are flexible, so if you’d like a greater challenge or an easier route, we are happy to help. Contact us for more details.
Day 1: Journey Inland, discover Janjanbureh and Bansang.
Coming from the coastal resorts of Gambia, with an early start, you will be in the cultural and historic town of Janjanbureh by around 12 – 2 pm. Your guide will meet you there and take you for lunch at a local bar / restaurant in the town. In the afternoon you will take a tour of the Island, visiting the sacred baobab at Tinyansita, UNESCO’s Kankurang Museum, the Methodist Church, the Freedom Tree and Armitage High School. You will have the chance to learn about the critical role that the town played in efforts to abolish the slave trade in Gambia and beyond.
Later, you will take local transport to the town of Bansang, where you can check in to your riverside lodge, freshen up and takie a stroll out to see the town. Bansang is a trading centre for the local villages and has a busy market and shops selling all manner of everyday items. It has one local bar, which can be a fun experience for open-minded, adventurous guests. If you’re looking for peace and tranquillity, you can relax at the lodge and watch the sunset over the river.
Day 2: Nature Hike and Riverside Tent Accommodation.
After taking breakfast at the lodge and buying fruit and snacks from the market, you’ll head to the wharf and take the hand-pulled ferry or one of the small rowing boats across to Bushtown on the North Bank of the river. Most of the morning will be spent hiking through the gallery forest, which is home to more than one baboon troop, different monkeys, warthogs, and reptiles such as monitor lizards and mongooses. The diversity of bird life is also impressive, particularly at the watering holes that we pass on the way. The trekking can be a bit challenging on this route, as there are no villages in this area and so many of the tracks are quite overgrown. We will stay as close to the river as the vegetation allows, cutting a path where necessary, as this gives the best chance of meeting the wildlife.
After around 9km, we leave the forest and the river, heading through the village of Dobo, to Tankong Kunda where we will stop for lunch and to greet the local chief. Then we’ll hike a short distance to the river and an improvised ‘camp’ which is used by the Malian fisherman that work in this area. We’ll pitch our tents and you will be free to relax in this beautiful forest setting and swim in the river while you await your evening meal. Before the sun sets, we’ll take a short walk to look for the red colobus monkeys that sometimes spend the night nearby.
Day 3: Village Hike and Short Boat Trip.
The day will start with bush tea, brewed on the fire while we strike camp, and then a short walk to Tankong Kunda for breakfast in the compound of a local Fula family. Then we will set off through open farmland to the tiny village of Jarra Ji and stop at the small shop which is located in the Chief’s compound, to buy bread for our lunch and a few snacks for the journey. The rest of the hike takes in more small communities where lifestyles are still very traditional and few travellers pass by. Local people are always interested to meet visitors and to chat, so don’t be surprised if you end up sitting, sharing a glass of green tea or two as the day goes by.
After the village of Kujew, we will climb Koli Bolong ‘Mountain’. At just 30m in height, it is not too strenuous and gives a bird’s eye view of the surrounding landscape. At the bottom of the ‘mountain’, you can cool off with a dip in the river. Our small boat will collect you from there and take you to look for hippos and then back to Janjanbureh. Evening meal and acommodation at local riverside lodge.
Day 4: Kayaking and Village Homestay
Meet your kayaking guide after breakfast and take some time to familiarise yourself with the kayak and to brush up on your skills, before departing Janjanbureh Island and heading West to Six Junctions, a collection of river islands where you might get your first sight of hippos. At Six Junctions, you’ll leave the kayaks and take a donkey cart the short distance to the village of Manna. Spend the afternoon in enjoying the hospitality of the village and sleep at the compound of your guide.
Day 5: Kayaking through the River Gambia National Park
After breakfast, depart Manna and continue West to the River Gambia National Park (aka Baboon Islands). We aim to be there around 3 pm, when the chimps often come down to the water’s edge. After seeing the chimps and meeting the rangers on their daily rounds,, you’ll continue West to Kairoh Garden riverside lodge in the wharf town of Kuntaur, where you will take your evening meal and spend the night.
Day 6: Primates, Ancient Stones and Home
In the morning, it’s an early start (optional) to cross the river and hike looking for baboons and the endangered red colobus monkeys. Take lunch at the lodge, and then visit the nearby UNESCO World Heritage site of Wassu Stone Circles before departing on to your next destination.
Hiking Distance: 23 km
Kayaking Distance: 38 km
Time: Six days, five nights
Price: 2 – 6 people: £435 per person (includes meals from lunch on day 1 until lunch on day 6. Guiding, one night tent accommodation, one night homestay, and three nights lodge accommodation. Entry fees, boat trip, equipment hire, fair wages and community contributions. Solo traveller price £485.